Search form

Search

Menu

Your support is more important than ever!

Friday, April 28, 2017

Dear friends,

Recent news about the possible elimination of the National Endowment for the Humanities has—on a positive note—reignited a national conversation about how a strong, vibrant democracy requires informed, engaged citizens.

Why do we need the humanities? The humanities connect us, despite our diverse perspectives. They enable us to find common ground and better understand ourselves, our world, and each other. We believe in the capacity of the humanities to raise silenced voices, create spaces where listening transcends rhetoric, and inspire empathy and critical thinking.

In the past year, in partnership with more than 300 local organizations in more than 150 cities and towns, New Hampshire Humanities provided hundreds of programs that offered 145,000 residents opportunities for learning, reflection, and reasoned discussion. This month alone, you’ll find more than 65 free public programs listed here – from living histories where you’ll meet Abraham Lincoln, Queen Victoria, or Walt Whitman, to diverse topics ranging from weathervanes, songs of old New Hampshire, and the golden age of American animation, to beer brewing in the Granite State, George Washington’s courageous runaway slave, America’s fastest sailing ships, movie mavericks who challenged Hollywood, and more.

While we work to advocate here in New Hampshire and around the country for the importance of federal support for broad public access to knowledge and community connections through the exchange of ideas, we also know that we need to reduce our reliance on that federal funding. In other words, we need YOU!

Would you make a gift today to help ensure that tens of thousands of residents, young and old, will benefit from strong humanities programming across the Granite State? Please use the envelope in this edition of the Calendar, or donate securely online at www.nhhumanities.org/give.

The humanities are not a luxury. If we are to thrive as individuals, as communities, and as a nation, we need the humanities. We need an understanding of the past, a willingness to wrestle with the complex issues we face, and opportunities to engage in respectful conversation with those of different beliefs.